Automatic fire-extinguisher



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

:I. HILL. AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

' No. 466,414. Patented Jan. 5, 1892.

1% Model.) r V I 2 She e ts-'S hee t' 2.

J. HILL;

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

No. 466,414. Patented Jan. 5, 1892.

10 j a .7 77 d NITED: STATES PATENT O FICE.

.JOHN HILL, or COLUMBUS, GEORGIA.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 166,414, dated January5, 1892.

Application filed August 9, 1890.

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHNHILL, a citizen of the United States, residingat Columbus, in the county of Muscogee and State of Georgia, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Fire -Extinguishers,of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that type of automatic fire-extinguisher headsor sprinklers wherein a valve is held to its seat by a solderjoint offusible metal or other material for. confining the "extinguishingfluiduntil such time as the valve is liberated by the fusion of thesolder-joint, an example of such automatic fire-extinguisher head orsprinkler being described and shown in Letters Patent No. 329,312,issued to me October 27,1885. In this type of fire-extinguisher head orsprinkler the valve-support comprises parts soldered together in suchmanner that when the solderjoint fuses the parts comprising thevalvesupport give or slide one upon the other with a shear-like action.During the time that the solder-joint is intact and the valve is held toits seat there is a constant shearing strain on the movable part thatsustains the valve on its seat, in consequence of which the solderjointis weakened. It has heretofore been proposed to resist this shearingstrain and strengthen the solder-jointby providing the parts comprising,the valve-support with interlocking teeth or serrations on the adjacentor contiguous faces, such teeth or serrations also acting to laterallyseparate the parts of the-valve-support when'the solderjoint is fusedfor the purpose of promptly releasing the valve and permitting theescape of the extinguishing-fluid. In all prior constructions, however,the teeth or serrations are first made in the parts comprising thevalve-support, and then the toothed or serrated parts are solderedtogether to sustain the valve and valve-stem, and subsequently the valveis tightenedagainst the solder-joint to aceurately seat'such valve andclose the fluid-delivery orifice of the fire-extinguisher head orsprinkler. .This has been found very obj ectionable, in thatascrew-adjustingdevice must be employed for seating and tightening thevalve against the solder-joint after the latter has been formed, forotherwise the valve and solder-joint would not be in correct relativeSerial No. 361,548. (No model.)

position for the practical closure of the fluiddelivery orifice and forthe practical application of the parts to secure the end in View.

In the former constructions the adjustments mustbe made to accommodatethe interlocking engagement of the teeth or serrations; or,

in other words, the adjustment on ust be effected after the teeth areinterlocked and after the solder-joint is formed, and this necessitatesthe employment of a screw-adjusting mechanism to tighten the valve.

The objects of my invention are to avoid the employment of screws ortoggles for tightening the valve against a previously-formedsolder-joint, to provide novel means whereby the valve against thesolder-joint. These objects are accomplished in the manner and by themeans hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure'l is a sectional perspectiveview of a fire-extinguisher head or sprinkler embodying my invention.Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of the stationary part of thevalve-support. Fig.3 is a similar view of the movable part or parts ofthe valve-support. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing ,thestationary and movable parts of the valve-support united together inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 5 is a top plan View of the same,showing the valve-stemin section. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are detail viewssimilar to Fig.5, showing modifications. Figs. 9 andlO are detailsectional views showing different forms of depressions or indentationsin the layer of solder which constitutes the solder-joint. Fig. 11 is aside elevation of a modified construction of fire-extinguisher headorsprinkler cum bodying my invention. Fig. 12 is a sectional view of thesame, taken on theline mm, Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a broken view of thelower portion of the yoke or frame, Fig. 11,showing a modification. Fig.It is a sectional view taken on the line (I 3 Fig. 13.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, I will now de scribe the same in detail, referring to thedrawings, wherein- The numeral 1 indicates the yoke or frame of afire-extinguisher head or sprinkler of the general constructionexhibited in my Letters Patent hcreinbefore alluded to. This yoke orframe is provided with a screw-threaded neck 2, adapted to be tappedinto a pipe or other conductor for conveying the fire-extinguishingfluid, as usual. The neck is provided internally with a valve-seat 3,upon which is seated a valve 4, carried by a stem 5, which may carry adistributer, as usual. The valve-support for the valve comprises astationary part or platform 6, rigidly attached to or forming a part ofthe yoke or frame, while the movable part or parts of the valve supportcomprises two semicircular sections 7, adapted to be united to thestationarypart or platform 6 by a solder-joint 8, composed of a layer ofsolder of any material suitable for the conditions required.

By the term solder I mean any material usually employed in automaticfireextinguishers which on fusing releases the valve.

In practice the valve is held tightly to the valve-seat by the lower endof the valvestem, being supported by the movable parts or sec tions 7,which are united to the stationary part or platform 6 through the mediumof the solder-joint. In the continued use of this device the solder isliable to weaken under the continued strain to which it is subjected bythe continued elastic tension upon the valve in such manner that thevalve may be released at a temperature not intended, or below that atwhich the solder-joint should release for the discharge of thefire-extinguishing fluid. The wedge action of the lower end of thevalve-stem, which lies between the movable parts or sections 7, tends toproduce a shear action, by which the two movable parts 7 may be forcedlaterally on the stationary part or platform 6 should the solder unitingsuch parts weaken sufficiently. This wedge action is proportioned to thepressure of the water or extinguishing-fluid upon the head 9 of thevalve.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that where the valve of thefire-extinguisher head or sprinkler is sustained by a movable partadapted to slide on a stationary or other part or platform, a shearstrain is constantly present, and therefore in time the joint isweakened. To resist this shear strain and strengthen the solder-joint Iform the solder layerwhich unites the parts with a depression throwninto engagement with one of the part-s of the valve-support after thevalve has been properly seated and after the solderjoint has beenperfected or formed. The dcpression in the layer of solder which unitesthe parts comprising the valve-support may be varied as to form andlocation.

In Figs. 1 to 10 the movable part of the valve-support is formed withdepressions or indentations 10, and the stationary part or platform 6 isformed Witllfl. corresponding depression or indentation in such mannerthat a portion of the metal of the movable part is thrown intoengagement with the recess or cavity in the stationary part, and in theformation of such depressions or indentations the layer of solder isdepressed and thrown into engagement with the stationary part orplatform (5 of the valve-support.

In practice I produce the depressions or indentations by means of asuitable implement having dies or punches which will depress the metalwithout forming perforations therein, an d this is effected after thevalve has-been accurately seated on the valve-seat, and after thesolder-joint has been produced to unite the movable and stationary partsto the valvesupport.

\Vhen I employ the stationary part or platform (3, Figs. 1 to 10, thesoluble solderinterposedbctween such platform and movable part or parts7 is melted, and a union being effected the interior of the valve-stem 5is insertedin its seat between the semicircular parts orsections 7,inwhich position the valve will have been properly and accurately adjusted toits valve-seat 3 to effectually close the dischargeorifice ofthe extinguisher head or sprinkler. After this has been accomplished, Iproduce the depressions or indentations by means of a suitable implementhaving dies, as hereinbefore explained. I may form these depressions orindentations in any desired shape, either circular or semicircular, asshown in Figs. 6 and 8, or they may be of an elongated form, as shown inFig. 7. The depressions or indentations may be of any required number,the main object being to form the layer of solder with the depression orindentation which engages a stationary part of the valvesupport to unitethe movable and stationary parts comprising the valve-support.

The important feature of my invention resides in first accuratelyseating the valve and closing the fluid-discharge orifice and solderingtogether the stationary and movable parts comprising the valve-supportby an interposed layerof solder and subsequently depressing or indentingthe layer of solder to form a depression or indentation which engagesthe stationary part of the valve-stem. By this means I am able toprovide practical and perfect fire-extinguisher heads or sprinklershaving means to resist the shear action and strain on the movable partsof the valvesupport, which results cannot be attained by theinterlocking engagement of the parts comprising the valve-support asheretofore con structed, owing to the difficulty, if not impossibility,of properly adjusting the valve relatively to .the interlocked parts ofthe valve-support after the solder-joint is formed.

In my invention I first adjust the valve and tighten it in its seat andsubsequently provide the solder-joint with the indentation or depressionto resist the shear strain on the movable part of the valve-support,whereby the depression or indentation'is made to fit or accommodate theadjustment or suit the conditions required after the solderjoint hasbeen formed and after the valve has been accurately seated. This is notpossible Where the parts of the valve-support are formed with toothedsurfaces prior to being soldered together as heretofore.

In the modifications, Figs. 11, 12, 13, and 14, I exhibit my inventionin another type of fire-extinguisher head or sprinkler. In thisconstruction the movable part of the valvesupport is composed of anelbow-lever 12, having its forked end supported upon one arm of the yokeor frame 1 and its lower end united to the yoke or framebyasolder-joint, such yoke or frame thus constituting the stationarypart of the valve-support. After the solder-joint is formed and thevalve is seated, the depression or indentation 10 (one or more) isformed in the manner hereinbefore explained. I may indent the yoke orframe at one edge of the elbow-lever to form the depression orindentation in the solder and cause it to engage the front shearing-edgeof the lever, as in'Figs.13 and 14:.

I do not confine my invention to any particular kind or type offire-extinguisher head or sprinkler, for, obviously, the improvement isapplicable to any fire-extinguisher head'or sprinkler Wherevalve-supporting parts held by a solder-joint are subjected to shearingstrain.

I make no claim in this application to any feature of invention shown,described, or claimed in an application for Letters Patent filed by meupon the 24th day of April, 1890, Serial No. 349,350, for improvementsin automatic fire-extinguishers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim i-s In an automaticfire-extinguisher, the combination, with a suitable head or sprinklerand a valve seated in the head or sprinkler to close thedischarge-orifice, of a valve-support comprising a movable and astationary part and an interposed layer of solder, said movable andstationary parts being formed with depressions after the parts arevsoldered together to depress the layer of solder and cause a depressionin said solder layer to enter the corresponding recess or cavity in thestationary part of the valve-support, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

J OHN' HILL.

lVitnesses:

E. F. CoLzEY, J. A. RUTHERFORD.

